Longer Standing Villa fans than me Question

[ktvillan]

I first went down the Villa in the mid 60s aged about 5 or 6, and remember the stadium being very grand but rather rundown and ramshackle.   A bit iike the team.  I'm not sure how I managed to get hooked when we were so consistently poor but there was something about the place, the colours, the crowd.  And i got to spend time with my Dad and Grandparents.  For cluelessness both on an off the pitch it pretty much resembled the Last few seasons of the Lerner reign, although there was the odd highlight such as the FA Cup replay against Southampton with a massive crowd.  Much as I despise Eliis (and I really do) he and the rest of the new board have to be given credit for finally introducing some commercial thinking, modernisation and and a bit of PR spin to get the fans back on side.   OK it was more suited to small businessman mentalities in those days, and Eliis' limitations were soon there for all to see,  but compared to what went before the new board were from a different planet. 

[Woofles The Wonder Dog]

I first went in 62 (reserve game) and as often as pocket money would allow after that. It never seemed so bad - partly because I'd never known a Villa that was any good and partly because our home form was pretty good, such that until our relegation season I don't recall seeing us lose at Villa Park (we even beat Man U!).

Even getting relegated didn't feel too awful, after all we'd be straight back up wouldn't we? Then it did get really awful...

[nigel]

My first season was 70/71. My dad used to go down the Witton end on the mud at the back and we used to run down the hill at the end. I loved watching Villa back then and being in the third division didn't matter. Players like Andy Lockhead Chico Hamilton and Pat McMahon were gods to me. I thought we were brilliant. Switched to the Holte end in 74. Possibly my favourite player of all time Keith Lenard and promotion back to Div 1 are high lights. Great bosses too. Vic Crowe and Ron Saunders. Fantastic days to be a young Villa fan

My first season, too.
First game Chesterfield.
Second game Bristol Rovers. They had this player called Graydon.

I remember winning the youth floodlit cup with the likes of Little, Brian & Alan, Gidman, Findley and, like yourself Allan, one of my favourites, Keith Leonard.
If I recall we had almost 30,000 for our leg of the final. 30,000 for a youth game!!!
I'm sure Dave Woodhall could supply attendance

[cdward]

I don't know about the performances, but looking at the league table positions, from the 60's and 70's it looked pretty grim.
However the recent bad records we have been setting, along with the players attitudes, and general demise, i would say the last 3 or 4 seasons have been about as bad as it gets.

[castlefields_villan]

My first season was 70/71. My dad used to go down the Witton end on the mud at the back and we used to run down the hill at the end. I loved watching Villa back then and being in the third division didn't matter. Players like Andy Lockhead Chico Hamilton and Pat McMahon were gods to me. I thought we were brilliant. Switched to the Holte end in 74. Possibly my favourite player of all time Keith Lenard and promotion back to Div 1 are high lights. Great bosses too. Vic Crowe and Ron Saunders. Fantastic days to be a young Villa fan

My first season, too.
First game Chesterfield.
Second game Bristol Rovers. They had this player called Graydon.

I remember winning the youth floodlit cup with the likes of Little, Brian & Alan, Gidman, Findley and, like yourself Allan, one of my favourites, Keith Leonard.
If I recall we had almost 30,000 for our leg of the final. 30,000 for a youth game!!!
I'm sure Dave Woodhall could supply attendance

I remember being at the home leg (and a couple of earlier rounds) - yes it was pretty full - capacity was around 58,000 ? after seats were put in the Trinity Enclosure and yes I'd say the ground was around half full.

A John Gidman penalty gave us a 1-0 home leg lead.

[SirSteveUK]

Well for a start, here are the league positions over the 20 years from 1960-perhaps they speak to the standard of our football - never higher than 15th in a 22-team League for 9 years running - followed by a catastrophic spell in the 2nd Div



The club was in terminal decline from the highlight of promotion at the first attempt in 1960 - under managers ranging from Joe Mercer (whose pedigree was impeccable) to Dick Knight & Tommy Cumming (less impeccable - Knight later ran a TV/Radio shop on the Witton Road and Tommy C went back to Burnley to run a pub). The decline was slowed, halted and eventually reversed by the Percy Matthews/Doug Ellis takeover in 1968, though even they couldn't stay out of the 3rd  under Tommy Docherty . The club would have gone out of business without Doug - I remain convinced of that - the pre-Ellis board were appallingly behind the times - and couldn't handle the debt that Knight had incurred by some apparently crap signings - which is why the club sold their Trinity Road training ground.

I was only an occasional supporter being at school - so I can only guess at what the football was like - but the "new broom" started in the old Div 3 - under the hand of Vic Crowe and I remember then really starting to support them home and away - with a team that was the best since 1960 - even then it was the feeling that the sleeping giant was awakening -  it was brilliant a run of improvement that continued to 1982.

Do you mean Dick Taylor?

And Pat Matthews.

Of course, Taylor and as for Matthews, Percy, I was remembering Private Eye's description of him when they did a paragraph on his First National Finance group.    Percy "Kindly call me Pat" Matthews

[SirSteveUK]

Interesting read this. Anyone recommened a decent book that covers all this period?

Not sure about a book but there was a club history video narrated by Gerald Sinstadt - I think - with a good interview with someone who experienced it all - Charlie Aitken. I think the history went up to 82

[PeterWithesShin]

Went up to the late 80s.

[SirSteveUK]

My first season was 70/71. My dad used to go down the Witton end on the mud at the back and we used to run down the hill at the end. I loved watching Villa back then and being in the third division didn't matter. Players like Andy Lockhead Chico Hamilton and Pat McMahon were gods to me. I thought we were brilliant. Switched to the Holte end in 74. Possibly my favourite player of all time Keith Lenard and promotion back to Div 1 are high lights. Great bosses too. Vic Crowe and Ron Saunders. Fantastic days to be a young Villa fan

My first season, too.
First game Chesterfield.
Second game Bristol Rovers. They had this player called Graydon.

I remember winning the youth floodlit cup with the likes of Little, Brian & Alan, Gidman, Findley and, like yourself Allan, one of my favourites, Keith Leonard.
If I recall we had almost 30,000 for our leg of the final. 30,000 for a youth game!!!
I'm sure Dave Woodhall could supply attendance

The semi-finals were well attended, unsurprisingly - against Blues & Francis?  The number 9 was Tony Betts, surely,  not Leonard

[nigel]

My first season was 70/71. My dad used to go down the Witton end on the mud at the back and we used to run down the hill at the end. I loved watching Villa back then and being in the third division didn't matter. Players like Andy Lockhead Chico Hamilton and Pat McMahon were gods to me. I thought we were brilliant. Switched to the Holte end in 74. Possibly my favourite player of all time Keith Lenard and promotion back to Div 1 are high lights. Great bosses too. Vic Crowe and Ron Saunders. Fantastic days to be a young Villa fan

My first season, too.
First game Chesterfield.
Second game Bristol Rovers. They had this player called Graydon.

I remember winning the youth floodlit cup with the likes of Little, Brian & Alan, Gidman, Findley and, like yourself Allan, one of my favourites, Keith Leonard.
If I recall we had almost 30,000 for our leg of the final. 30,000 for a youth game!!!
I'm sure Dave Woodhall could supply attendance

The semi-finals were well attended, unsurprisingly - against Blues & Francis?  The number 9 was Tony Betts, surely,  not Leonard

Stand corrected if that's the case, mate. Long time ago 😊

EDIT: Quite correct, Steve, I wondered if any one would spot the deliberate mistake 😀

[SteveN]

First game in 1959 against Ipswich, I was 7, we won 3-1 I think, Hitchens and McParland amongst the scorers.  Saw nearly every home game from then until I came down south in 1967.  We were mainly crap but I knew no better and these were my happiest times watching the Villa.  Coloured by my tender age and going with my dad and uncle Jack, God bless them both.

I have no real memory of the state of the ground or particular games although Charlton 11-1 and Leicester 8-3 stand out.  I do remember individual players, even Bobby Park although I have tried hypnosis and therapy.

[brian green]

My first time in Villa Park, I am told, was when my mother took my two brothers and me to see first hand the bombing of the Witton Lane stand.  My first game was in 1946.  We were awful in those days.  Always down the bottom of the table.  We had only two international players, Leslie Smith getting on in years and a Welsh goalkeeper whose name escapes me.  Trevor Ford gave us new heart and something to cheer about but generally Villa since WW2 have been more like they are now than they were in Rotterdam.

[Ron Manager]

Well for a start, here are the league positions over the 20 years from 1960-perhaps they speak to the standard of our football - never higher than 15th in a 22-team League for 9 years running - followed by a catastrophic spell in the 2nd Div



The club was in terminal decline from the highlight of promotion at the first attempt in 1960 - under managers ranging from Joe Mercer (whose pedigree was impeccable) to Dick Knight & Tommy Cumming (less impeccable - Knight later ran a TV/Radio shop on the Witton Road and Tommy C went back to Burnley to run a pub). The decline was slowed, halted and eventually reversed by the Percy Matthews/Doug Ellis takeover in 1968, though even they couldn't stay out of the 3rd  under Tommy Docherty . The club would have gone out of business without Doug - I remain convinced of that - the pre-Ellis board were appallingly behind the times - and couldn't handle the debt that Knight had incurred by some apparently crap signings - which is why the club sold their Trinity Road training ground.

I was only an occasional supporter being at school - so I can only guess at what the football was like - but the "new broom" started in the old Div 3 - under the hand of Vic Crowe and I remember then really starting to support them home and away - with a team that was the best since 1960 - even then it was the feeling that the sleeping giant was awakening -  it was brilliant a run of improvement that continued to 1982.

Do you mean Dick Taylor?

And Pat Matthews.

Percy was his proper Christian name.
Dick Knight was a local sports journalist.

[brian green]

Keith Jones was our international goalkeeper.

[Pat McMahon]

My first time in Villa Park, I am told, was when my mother took my two brothers and me to see first hand the bombing of the Witton Lane stand.

How did she know in advance it was going to happen, Brian?

My mom used to go down the Villa whilst she was pregnant carrying me so I was in Villa Park before I was born. For most of my time I have seen more good than bad but the last 5 years have been the worst and longest run since I started going to matches.

I know we finished 3rd in 1972-73 but I have no great recollection of big crowds, great games or the excitement of the previous season's promotion campaign. Is my memory failing or were we so far behind Burnley and QPR that there was little excitement?